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April
Talk Box
April is the start of spring in many areas. It is often when Easter happens. We think of baby
animals, bunny rabbits, chicks, and coloured eggs.
Try these activities, songs, books, and crafts to help your child learn. Speak, sing, and talk
about books with your child in your own language.
Activities
Easter
There are many things to talk about when
celebrating Easter.
• Decorate eggs and talk about what happens
when you dip a blue egg in the red dye or a
yellow egg in the red dye.
• Hide the eggs and let your child find them. Talk
about where you found all the eggs. This is a
good way to practice words like behind, under,
beside, on, and in.
• Make a bunny ear headband and have your
child pretend to be the Easter bunny. Let her
hide some eggs around the house.
Farm animals
Go visit a petting zoo, if there is one in your
community.
• Talk about the animals’ names. Talk about
what the baby animal is called.
• Talk about how they feel. Are
they soft, fuzzy, rough, hairy, or
slippery?
• Talk about what you think each
animal eats. Maybe you can
feed the animals.
• Talk about the parts of each
animal. (Does it have paws or
hooves? Does it have long
or short ears? What kind
of tail does it have? What
about its nose?)
Zoo animals
It is nice to visit the zoo even when it’s not hot
outside. A warm spring day can be a great time
to go. If you don’t have a zoo to visit, go to the
library and sign out some books about zoo
animals. Pretend you are at the zoo as you read
together.
• Talk about the animals’ names.
• Talk about what they look like. Do they have
long or short legs? Do they have fur or skin?
• Talk about what parts of the world the animals
come from.
• Talk about what the animals are doing.
• Take turns pretending to be a certain animal.
Move around like the animal and make sounds.
Songs and rhymes
Want to learn more songs and rhymes? Look for a parent-child
music class in your area.
Bears are sleeping
Sleeping bunnies
(sung to the tune of
Frere Jacques)
(child lays on the floor pretending
to sleep and parent sings or says rhyme)
Bears are sleeping,
Bears are sleeping,
In their caves, in their caves.
Waiting for the springtime,
Waiting for the springtime.
Shh! Shh! Shh!
Shh! Shh! Shh!
See the little bunnies sleeping,
Sleeping until noon,
Come let us gently wake them,
(parent rubs child’s back)
With a happy tune.
Are they ill?
Oh so still . . . (pause for surprise)
Wake up bunnies, hopping, hopping,
(child jumps up and hops like a bunny)
Wake up bunnies, hopping, hopping,
Wake up bunnies, hopping, hopping,
Wake up bunnies hop and stop.
Books
Singing is
a great way
for children to
learn new words.
Don’t forget
to make up
actions for
songs.
Go to your local public library to find these and many more great books.
Children learn
through everyday
moments. Check out
next month’s activity
page for more ideas.
Too many bunnies by Matt Novak
Happy Easter eggs by Joan Holub
Farm 123 by Rod Campbell
I went walking by S. Williams
Hattie and the fox by Mem Fox
Dear zoo by Rod Campbell
Pigs by Robert Munsch
If you give a mouse a cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
Have you seen my cat? By Eric Carle
The rainbow fish by Marcus Pfister
Bear wants more by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman
Crafts
For more craft ideas go to www.wondertime.go.com
© 2007, Capital Health and Calgary Health Region
Making Easter eggs
Wax crayon resist
Remember to hard-boil your eggs
Colour on the Easter eggs with wax crayons
before decorating them. You can
before placing them in the dye. Draw on dots,
easily make your own food colour dye. lines, shapes, or swirls. The wax will keep the dye
away from your picture and your picture will show
Mix ½ to 1 tablespoon of food
through.
colouring with 2 teaspoons of vinegar
If you don’t want to use dye, just colour the eggs
in a cup that is deep enough for the
eggs. Add water so the cup is half full. with crayons.
Gently place the eggs into the cups.
Collage eggs
The longer they are left in the dye, the
Decorate your eggs with whatever craft supplies
darker the colour will be. When you
take the egg out, pat dry with a paper you may have. Use white or craft glue to stick on
sequins, buttons, glitter, beads, or stickers. You can
towel and put it in a holder.
even colour with markers. Go wild!
Go to www.parentlinkalberta.ca
for more Talk Box ideas.